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Nutrition guru Mike Dolce is trying to “trick” people into living healthier lives.

A cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 7, Dolce has since quit fighting professionally and dedicated his career to helping fighters make weight safely, utilizing a whole foods approach dubbed “The Dolce Diet.” His list of clients has included names like Chael Sonnen, Johny Hendricks, Vitor Belfort, Jake Ellenberger, Thiago Alves, Kelvin Gastelum and Quinton Jackson.

“I’m not a nutritionist, I’m not a dietician, I’m not all these things — I push myself away from all these titles,” Dolce told reporters during a media lunch in Toronto ahead of UFC 165 last week. “I’m just a coach. I want to help people be better, I want to teach people how to be better.”

In conjunction with the UFC, Dolce is launching UFC FIT, a home training program based on the system Dolce utilizes with his athletes. The kit features 12 DVDs, a calendar of exercises and a nutrition and recipe guide.

Dolce said he’s using the UFC marketing machine to spread his message.

“This is the way I’m truly and actively trying to get the message out there,” Dolce said. “It’s much more than the 12-disc series and much more than the nutrition plan that comes with it. It’s why we call it the UFC FIT lifestyle manual, because it’s just that. It’s a lifestyle, it’s not just 90 days, it’s the rest of your life.

“So I’m trying to trick people into changing their lives through this sexy little UFC FIT octagon packaging. I’m trying to trick them and get them hooked.”

Dolce said he aims to educate people on how to make smart food and beverage choices.

“I’m going to grab purified water, or I’m going to grab a chemically created concoction of carbonated God-knows-what,” Dolce said. “(The latter) has my favourite celebrity on there and it has zero calories, zero fat, or zero sugar. Bleach has zero calories, zero fat and zero sugar — why aren’t we drinking that bottle of chemicals? Why would you drink a soda? It’s the same thing.”

Dolce feels there are a lot of bad products on the market that promise optimal results with minimal effort. He stands by UFC FIT, but said users are going to have to work for every pound they lose.

“Real food, exercise and sleep — there’s nothing sexy about that,” Dolce began. “There are no pills, no injections, there’s no little surgery to get done. We just have to eat delicious foods and, yes, you do have to put in 25 to 45 minutes of exercise for four to six days a week.

“With UFC FIT, we’ve given the tools. It’s the winning lottery ticket, take it, it’s yours. You have to go cash it in and that’s where a lot of people disconnect. They don’t because they’re too lazy, or they’re too tired. Then they don’t deserve the treasure at the end, they don’t deserve the winning number.

“All humans have the same issue, it’s a lack of motivation, it’s a lack of goal setting, it’s a lack of accountability. Who gets up in the morning and sets a goal for the day? Most people are just trying to get through the day. They’re just trying to get back home to their TVs, so they can sit there and wait to die.”

Dolce hopes UFC FIT will help dispel many of the misconceptions surrounding weight loss, such as calorie counting.

“The average person is eating incorrectly because they’re so focused on calorie counting,” Dolce said. “I always say: The only people counting calories are overweight and cheating. You don’t see healthy people, fit people, counting calories. They know what to eat. They eat properly and they eat freely until they’re satisfied, not until they’re full.”

To prove his point, Dolce discussed how he utilized whole foods to almost triple Sonnen’s caloric intake to get the three-time UFC title challenger on weight for his first encounter with then 185-pound champ Anderson Silva in 2010.

“He called me in a panic and said, ‘My weight isn’t shifting, it isn’t moving,’” Dolce said. “He was so motivated and really pushing hard that he dropped his calories down to about 1,200 per day and his weight was still stuck at 218 pounds.

“So I essentially tripled his calories. I don’t count calories, but just estimating, he went above 3,500, close to 4,000 calories per day. He was like, ‘I can’t eat this. I can’t finish this.’ For the first couple days, he wasn’t able to finish the food. He was eating more often than he was used to and triple the portion of what he was used to.

“Two weeks later, he stepped on a scale. He lost 15 pounds in those two weeks by tripling his calories.”

UFC welterweight Patrick (The Predator) Cote, who recently went back to school to obtain a degree in nutrition, said too many people are focused on hitting an ideal weight rather than focusing on being healthy.

“To lose weight, you have to eat — period,” Cote told reporters. “A lot of people are confused that being light and being healthy go together. That’s not the case at all. People want to win the battle against gravity, but that’s not how it works.”

AROUND THE OCTAGON

In a bizarre move, the UFC has cut No. 6 ranked middleweight Yushin Okami following a TKO loss to Ronaldo Souza earlier this month. Prior to the defeat, the Japanese grappler won three consecutive fights ... An eye injury has forced Michael Bisping to withdraw from his coming bout against Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester Oct. 26. Munoz will now meet Lyoto Machida on the card ... Also at Fight Night 30, Piotr Hallman has replaced injured Anthony Njokuani against Al Iaquinta ... Top-ranked featherweight Dennis Siver will lock horns with Manny Gamburyan at UFC 168 in Las Vegas on Dec. 28 ... A bout between Jeremy Stephens and Rony Mariano Bezerra has been rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 32 in Goiania, Brazil, on Nov. 9.

UFC stars turn to nutritional guru Mike Dolce for health tips

Nutrition guru Mike Dolce is trying to “trick” people into living healthier lives.

A cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 7, Dolce has since quit fighting professionally and dedicated his career to helping fighters make weight safely, utilizing a whole foods approach dubbed “The Dolce Diet.” His list of clients has included names like Chael Sonnen, Johny Hendricks, Vitor Belfort, Jake Ellenberger, Thiago Alves, Kelvin Gastelum and Quinton Jackson.